There are all kinds of grant management software out there on the market. Some of it is designed specifically for an “organization type” or  business model and have  just a few very focused and definite features. Other grant management software programs have so many features that it takes a couple of software engineers a couple of months to set it up. The idea is to find that happy medium between versatility and usefulness before you buy!

Key Features of Great Grant Management Software

Before buying realize that a quality program will have:

• On-line forms
• Template letters
• Contact management
• Tracking and monitoring
• Document management
• Payments management
• Customized look and feel

For ease of use, you might also want to make sure that it is a cascading document style of software that allows you to easily put together to do lists, store lists and contacts and automatically forwards you to the next task.

Information Tracking is Essential

The very best grant management software is meticulously designed and can be customized to meet the demands of all kinds of different contests and competitions. It should also be able to handle a huge bulk of proposals.

When evaluating software, be sure to look for grant management software that is designed to track information according to the following categories:

• Proposal type
• Award type
• Funding agency
• Agency number
• Budget period
• Project period
• Due date of project reports
• End dates of projects

The information reporting does not stop there. It should also have such grant management software features capabilities as compliance monitoring and the ability to tell you how much time and effort was put into each project. It should also keep track of all of the applicant’s emails and when exactly reports need to be delivered back to the funding agencies.

Many of the best of these software programs will have their own email autoresponders built right into the system. This means that if it is time for an applicant to submit a progress report then it should happen immediately.

Grant Accounting Software Solutions

If you are handing out a lot of grants, loans or scholarships then you might need to find a submissions handling program that also comes with grant accounting software solutions.

• Federal grants
• State grants
• Gifts
• Endowments
• Trusts
• Publishing income
• Clinical income
• Investment income
• Revolving fames

This build-in in a grants management program prevents your online ledger from becoming so thick and fat with information that you can barely handle it or keep up the records.

Untangle Your Bureaucratic Snarl!

A good grant management software program will be able to be kept up to date and also can be easily viewed by all authorities concerned with the proper running of your foundation or organization including financial managers, accountants, grant administrators and technical people.

You should also choose a friendly looking “skin” for your online site for application submission and make sure that it is fully branded and user-friendly. This will cut down on the phone calls to your office asking for help with the granting application process.

Remember that the whole purpose of buying grant management software is not to create full time jobs for a team of software engineers or keep you up late working at the office trying to figure out how the thing works. Rather it is all about convenience and ease of use for yourself and also for the users at the other end of the granting administration process: your applicants!